Territory



W. J. WOODBURY, Decd.

(No Model.)

L. WOODBURY, Admini'stratrix.

gted 0st. 15,

v PRUNING SHEARS. No. 547,907.

Attorney.

-aPa,te

AN DREW BERAHAM.PNOTWUTHQWASHINGFDKDYC.

NITED STATES PATENT FFICE.

LOUISA WVOODBURY, OF SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH TERRITORY, ADMINISTRA- TRIX OF WILLIAM J. VVOODBURY, DECEASED.

PRUNlNG-SHEARS.

SEECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 547,907, dated. October 15, 1895. Application filed August 3, 1393. Serial No.482,289- (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Beit known that WILLIAM, J. WOODBURY, deceased, formerly a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the city and county of Salt Lake, in the Territory of Utah, did inventcertainlmprovementsin Pruning-Shears, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to the class of pruning-shears in which one blade is stationary and the other movable, the latter being actuated through the medium of a lever connected with the shank of the movable blade.

The object of the invention is in part to so mount the respective blades as to produce the best cutting effect, and in part to improve the mechanical construction of the shears.

In the accompanying drawings, which serve to illustrate the invention, Figure 1 is a side View of a pair of shears embodying said improvements. This view shows the blades nearly closed. Fig. 2 is a similar view showing the blades about closing on a branch. Fig. 3 is a sectional edge view, the plane of the section being indicated by the line 3 3 in Fig. 2.

The shears are mounted on the end of a handle A, which may be of wood and of any suitable length. In constructing the jaws the gathering-fork B is formed of two like parts of sheet-steel, placed face to face, distanced by washers at a and a and united through said washers by rivets a At their upper ends these plates have the form of the letter Y, and

. at their lower ends they embrace the wooden in a pivot 65*.

handle, to which they are securely fastened. The Y-shaped plates are alike in contour, except that at the bottom of the space within the gathering-fork or Y a portion of one of the plates extends above the other to form the stationary blade I), which is inclined at its margin and suitably beveled to form a cutting-edge. Between the plates in the branch at of the fork is mounted the movable blade 0 This blade is in the form of a lever, and comprises the broad blade proper c and the curved shank c. The edge of the blade proper c is convex or rounded longitudinally, and it is made broad, so that it may be properly guided between the plates forming the branch a of the fork. The curved shank 0' passes between the plates forming the stem of the gathering-fork, which plates form a guide for said shank during the cutting operation. To the shank c is attached a rod or stiff wire d, which extends down along the handle A, through suitable guides e thereon, and is secured at its other end to an operating-lever D, fulcru med at f on the handle A.

The operation is as follows: The lever D is pushed upward to raise the movable blade, as seen in Fig. 2, and a branch at is made to engage the fork and rest on the stationary blade. The operator now draws down the lever D forcibly, and the moving blade, descending on the branch, cuts into and severs it.

It will be seen that the pruning-shears possess these characteristics: The moving blade descends upon the branch, and the weight of the branch, as said blade cuts into it, tends to open the out and leave the blade free to enter. The upper moving blade will do the major part of the cutting, but the lower stationary blade, which has a cutting-edge, will cut its way into the branch, and thus prevent the bruising or stripping of the bark and insure a clean out.

It will be noted as important features of the construction that the broad oval blade proper cis guided at the back during the cutting by the branch a of the'fork, so as to enable it toresist the strain, and that the pressure in cutting is practically coincident with the axis of the handle, which reduces the strain on the shears in cutting hard wood.

What is claimed as the invention of said 8; WILLIAM J. WOODBURY is- As an improved article of manufacture, a pair of pruning shears comprising a handle A, a gathering fork B, fixed to said handle, said fork being formed from two like parts of c sheet-metal, placed face-to-face and distanced to form a space for the movable blade, and provided with a stationary cutter b, integral with one of said parts of the fork and arranged in the line of the prolonged axis of the my name in the presence of two subscribing handle and stem of the fork, the movable Witnesses.

blade O, pivoted in one branch of the fork and LOUISA \(VOODBURY, occupying the space between the two like Administmiv'z'sc of the estate of W'illiam J. parts thereof, said blade having a curved l Voodbury, deceased.

shank c, and means for operating said mov- YVitnesses:

able blade, substantially as set forth. RIEGO HAWKINS,

In Witness whereof I have hereunto signed JOHN E. SHERRARD. 

